Pinterest to test 'promoted-pin' advertising

San Francisco—Image-sharing site Pinterest will begin experimenting with promoting certain “pins” from a select group of businesses, marking the company's initial foray into advertising.
For its first test, Pinterest will promote pins in search results and category feeds. According to a statement by co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann: “A pin for a Darth Vader outfit from a costume shop might be promoted in a search for "Halloween.' ” Companies in the initial test will not pay for these ads, Silbermann said.
Pinterest has been preparing its site for a more commercial approach. In May the company introduced new types of pins that add product information, such as pricing, availability and where to buy. In March Pinterest released a Web analytics tool to help companies understand how the market is interacting with their content.